Chelsea Women striker Sam Kerr has her sights set on this year’s Women’s World Cup, taking place in her home country of Australia, where she is relishing the opportunity to perform on the world stage in front of a home crowd.
The 29-year-old forward believes hosting the World Cup alongside New Zealand can be a historic moment for her home nation, expressing feelings of pride at the thought of representing the Matildas on familiar territory.
‘Not many players get to play a home World Cup,’ Kerr acknowledged. ‘It’s going to be the biggest honour in the world to one, represent the country but two, at a home World Cup in front of your home fans, family and friends.
‘It’s going to be hopefully a moment that is remembered in everyone’s eyes for the rest of [history].’
Australia take on the Lionesses tonight (Tuesday) in a friendly fixture ahead of this summer’s tournament, and Kerr is hoping the support shown towards the Lionesses in the Euros can be replicated for the Matildas on home turf in July.
‘Australians love getting behind Aussies. I’m sure we’ll have big crowds. We’ve seen with the ticket sales, there are so many girls in this team that are loved by the Aussies.
‘I have no doubt that the Aussies will get behind us just like the English did, just like the French did at the World Cup before.
‘The Aussies love a sporting team and the Matildas are fan favourites. I get goosebumps every time I think about the first game.’
Much like the legacy created by the Lionesses’ Euro victory last summer, Kerr is dreaming of replicating that feel-good factor around women’s football in Australia, and hopes to see funding begin to match participation levels and emotional investment in the game.
‘The legacy we want to leave is that we want to inspire the nation, move the nation to believe in women’s football, believe in the Matildas.
‘We already have the highest participation in the country [women playing football] so I think it’s about getting the people higher up to believe in the sport.
‘With the Socceroos’ (Australia men’s football team) success at the World Cup, we saw the amount of funding being highlighted so I think we have the participation, we have the love for the game but the lasting legacy will hopefully be that we get the funding the sport deserves.’